WHAT TO WEAR FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT SESSION

What you wear during your engagement session can make an impact on how you feel during your shoot and is going to affect how much you’ll love your photos. We often get asked for suggestions on what to wear for the shoot so we made a quick guide to help you choose your style and how you want to look.

Most couples choose 1-2 outfits to shoot in, one casual and a dressed-up look. This guide will let you pick outfits that compliment the environment you’re shooting and allows you two to stand out without any distractions. And just as outfits can add to the photos, they can also take away from photos when it’s too distracting. Think neon bright colors, ill-fitting pants, loud patterns. NO GOOD!

MAKE SURE IT MAKES SENSE

Think about the conditions and locations were photographing at and plan around it. If we’re going to be hiking around the mountains, bring shoes with good grip to avoid twisting your ankles. If we’re at the beach, heels and dress shoes would be a bad idea and frankly wouldn’t make sense, instead barefoot with rolled up pants, casual - semi casual outfit will fit better. But in photography rules are meant to be broken, so there are cases where we break the rules and still make it work.

If it’s going to be cold outside, don’t forget to bring lots of layers and warm clothes. If it’s going to be hot, lighter toned down color clothes work better to stay cooler and more comfortable.

CONSIDER A CHANGE OF OUTFIT

If you really can’t decide whether to go casual or formal, then you might want to consider an outfit change, feel free to bring both or another set of each look. We might not necessarily use all of the outfits you bring, but at least it’s there as an option.

DRESS TO IMPRESS

You want to look fancy and classy, make sure you both match if you’re wearing heels and a nice dress, it would not make sense for your partner to wear sneakers and cargo pants and vice versa. Long flowing dress with trail quite often makes interesting photos.

WEAR AN OUTFIT THAT FEELS LIKE YOU

One of the most important thing is that you both feel and look like yourselves, avoid anything uncomfortable or tight. Our couples love their engagement shoot because they get a chance to splurge on a glam new dress or check out their closet for that nice outfit they haven’t worn yet, new clothes makes us feel good!

FOR THE BOYS

A plain white button-down long sleeve, tucked-in shirt, belt and dress shoes might look great (if you work out) but often times it’s difficult to move a lot so if you plan to go that route, try it out prior to the shoot and make sure you are comfortable and mobile. Otherwise you’ll have a hard time doing the dip with your partner and you’ll get less points for it. If you’re aiming for a formal look, dress up with a suit or tucked in shirt, belt, dress shoes, and blazer. The blazer can make a difference between looking dressed up and you just came from your office desk job. Outfits that always work for men are nice button-down shirts (long or short sleeve) worn untucked with well-fitted pants or slacks and loafers, nice sneakers or barefoot if were at the beach.

LAYER IN STYLE

Accessories + Layers add interest to photos without being distracting and can easily be a quick way to change outfit just by removing some of it. If you already found your outfit try adding layers to it. For Gals might be hats, bracelets, statement earrings, jackets, etc. Layers for Guys are as simple as bringing a jacket and/or hat.

COMFORT IS KEY

It’s also important to make sure the materials you wear will keep you comfortable during the shoot, not only for the weather but also for moving around. If you’re wearing brand new jeans that are still stiff and tight, you might be distracted during the shoot because it will be harder to sit, run and move around. We recommend breaking it in specially your new shoes so you’ll be as comfortable as possible.

COLORS & PATTERNS

We always recommend toned down earthy colors! Neutrals don’t just mean gray, or black and white, every color you like will always have a muted version of it. Like mustard yellow, forest green, maroon, burnt orange, etc. Avoid bright neon colored outfits! and bright oranges and reds unless you have darker or olive skin. Stay away from loud, crazy patterns. The smaller or more subtle it is the better! If your pattern is too big it will bring attention to your clothes rather than your faces.

BRING PROPS

When you hear prop you’re probably thinking cheesy chalkboards and Pinterest photos, but, if done right they can be real interesting and can make your engagement photos stand out! Props we love? Balloons, picnics, bicycle, motorcycle, blankets, tent, campfire, surfboards, wine or a sweet car! A bouquet is always welcome as well.

GLAM IT UP

We will always recommend this to our couples, get your hair and make up done! Either by a pro or do it yourself, you will feel beautiful and more confident knowing you look amazing - Our thoughts on pro hair and makeup artists will always be like this, use this opportunity and have a trial run with a potential hair and make up artist prior to hiring them on your wedding day. If you’re planning on getting your hair and makeup done, we recommend you schedule it to be done an hour before you leave for the shoot depending on how far your location is, you don’t want to be late for your engagement shoot.

And thats about it! Now that you know what to wear for your upcoming engagement shoot, go forth and slay the outfit game! If you’ve picked a couple of outfits you feel like the winner, send us some photos of it :)

Hope this will get you ready for your engagement session!

Best,

Jay & Shiny